Cave of Wonders
by tistrust
Summary: There's this cave and in this cave the Gods store their power. Those who venture into the cave's depths return only in madness.
1. Chapter 1

A small village on outskirts of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1519 -

"The strangers that have come are not who we think they are." Xolotl tired to explain to his younger sister, "Quetzlcoatl has not return, our people have been tricked. You should not be with that man."

"I love him and that is all you need to know." Anacaona replied, daring her brother to continue.

"They come with weapons, they demand everything of us, and they treat us like animals. Our god would not do that. Can you not see? He wants nothing but your body, he is nothing but trouble." Xolotl continued, he would not sit idly by and watch his sister fall for the deceitful strangers.

"Diego is not like that." Anacaona defied.

"Yes he is, and you should not be seeing him. He will ruin you. I forbid you to see him ever again." Xolotl stated.

"You are not father and you cannot stop me." Anacaona simply said.

Xolotl stared at his sister for a moment. The strangers were wreaking havoc on their homes and his sister was still willing to _love_ one of them. It was impossible for him to comprehend but he would make sure that his sister would not see that man again. He changed tactics from forceful to tender, "I am not. But I love you just as much as he did and I want you to be safe." With that he turned and left.

-

Anacaona made sure her brother had left the house before running into the kitchen. She tapped the kitchen table three times rapidly, "Diego!"

Diego crawled out from under the table and hastily straightened himself. He let out a breath and took in the beauty of Anacaona.

Although neither could speak the other's language, they had a way of communicating that bypassed the barrier. This was not infatuation but love in its purest form.

They felt it the first time they saw each other. A spark had ignited something deep within and they knew that they could never live without the other.

Diego quickly gathered her in his arms for a quick embrace. He held her back for a moment and looked into Anacaona's deep brown eyes. A smile slowly lit his face and he leaned in to kiss her.

The kiss lasted for an eternity. Breathless, Anacaona took Diego's hand and led him to the back of the house.

They sat down next to the tree and they were content to stay that way.

-

Xolotl arrived home later that night with a couple of friends. He didn't have to tell his friends to make them selves comfortable as they were long past that stage and he went to find his sister to tell her that they had company.

He could not find her any where in the house. She must have gone to visit one of her friends. There was a loud crash that came from the living room and he returned to find his friends, Maxtla and Tizoc, wrestling.

"Watch it! You might break something!" Xolotl yelled, "And I do not want to be the one who has to explain the mess to Anacaona."

Maxtla wriggled out of Tizoc's grasp, "He started it! He said that I could not beat him in a fair fight!"

Tizoc ran his hand through his hair, "And it's true, you couldn't win a battle against a fly."

"Okay! Take this outside, in the back, so that the neighbors won't know what idiots I have for friends." Xolotl compromised.

After a moment of hurt that fluttered on Maxtla and Tizoc's faces, the three raced each other to the back.

-

Anacaona woke up to a crash. She slowly disentangled herself from Diego's arms and sat up looking expectantly at the house.

Her brother was home.

Anacaona gently shook Diego awake. She looked into his green gray eyes and conveyed her fear for him.

He understood and began to stand up when the back door opened.

Xolotl and his friends ran out of the house and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Anacaona and Diego.

"What is he doing here?" Xolotl demanded.

Anacaona stood in front of Diego, "He was about to leave."

"I told you that you were not allowed to see him any more. He is dangerous."

"You fear what you do not know," Anacaona nudged Diego telling him to run.

Diego understood, but he did not move. He was not going to leave Anacaona alone to face her brother.

Xolotl, Maxtla, and Tizoc advanced on the couple.

Anacaona grabbed Diego's hand and together they ran into the forest. Xolotl, Maxtla, and Tizoc right on their tail.

A few minutes into the forest and Anacaona and Diego had lost Xolotl, Maxtla, and Tizoc. Xolotl rarely entered the forest, preferring his strolls in town to the undergrowth and nature, and his friends did not live around here.

After what seemed like hours, Anacaona reached what she was looking for.

It was a small dugout that she used to hide in when she was little. No one knew about it and it was perfect.

Together they squeezed themselves into the dugout. It was a tight fit but they did not mind the accommodations.

They had only just met and a week was not long enough to be with him. She only had her brother before and she had been content. But now Diego had changed that and she became happy, complete and she was not going to lose Diego without a fight.

There was rustling on their right and they saw the glow of a torch. Diego held tightly onto Anacaona. When it began to fade away Diego laughed lightly and Anacaona kissed his cheek. They soon fell asleep.

The morning sun woke them and Anacaona knew that she had to go home. It was not fair to her brother that she worry him like this, however much she loved Diego she loved Xolotl equally, differently but equally.

Diego knew that she felt this way and when she hesitantly started to lead them back to her house he nudged her forward.

-

Xolotl and his friends wondered through the forest, searching for his sister and her lover. They had split up and would meet up later at his house.

Xototl became engrossed in his thoughts that he had not noticed the small clearing and the cave until he bumped into it. Admonishingly, he bent down and walked in. The cave glowed oddly; although Xolotl's head was telling him to get out he could not.

The deeper he went the brighter the cave became. The heavenly light was beautiful. He could not pin down exactly what color the light gave off. The celestial light was an array of colors that seemed to be vying for dominance, yet none were powerful enough to surpass the others.

He turned a sharp corner. The light came to a crescendo which fiercely blinded Xolotl. He saw nothing but the white light which surrounded him. Suddenly he felt the light filling him. Seeping into his body and slowly taking over. The light worked through his mouth and nose plunging down to his legs and filling them with the light before rising into his stomach and chest. The light seemed to become exceedingly aggressive as it poured into his heart and lungs, filling his arms and shoulders. Xolotl could tell that the light wanted him, needed him.

The light surged into his head, blocking out his brain, sending him away into the startlingly bright darkness.

Xolotl woke up and found that he was staring at the ceiling of his kitchen.

His head was pounding and he wondered what he had last night to cause this. Xolotl slowly pushed himself up, wincing as the pain in his head doubled. He took in a deep breath and found that the air was putrid with a metallic taste.

He reached to rub his head when he noticed that his hand was red.

He stared at his hand, entranced for hours, before seeing that the floor was covered in blood.

He looked wildly around, his gaze settled on his sister's lover. It was only because of the difference in their clothing that he recognized the man. What was left of his face was horribly mangled. His arms and legs were cut to shreds; the drying blood paled the dead man's skin. His chest seemed to have suffered multiple stab wounds and suddenly Xolotl realized that he had done this. He could not remember but he could feel it.

He looked away, afraid of the crime he committed but it proved to be a terrible decision.

Tizoc's body had a wound to his head and heart which had oozed out the blood that surrounded him.

Maxtla's decapitated head stared blindly at Xolotl and he unwillingly traced the trail of thick blood to the body.

Xolotl wildly searched for an exit that would permit him to leave without him having to see the corpses; however he only found another one.

He had dreaded this since he had seen the body of Diego.

His baby sister. Her body was damaged beyond possibility yet her face defied the atrocities that had occurred and retained her angelic features.


	2. Chapter 2

Present day –

"Bloody stewardess has it in for me."

Sydney shook her head and smiled lightly, "We're almost there anyways."

Nigel sighed, "Meeting anther one of your old flames is not my idea of a fun time."

"We're going for business, not pleasure."

"And you have a clean record of that, don't you Syd?" his small smile revealed amusement.

"Oh, I'm getting you back for that one." her voice rang with promise although she smiled back.

"Syd, don't you think that it's kind of odd that a friend you haven't spoken to for three years has suddenly sent you an urgent message that only ordered you to meet with him?" Nigel asked after a moment of silence.

"Of course I think it's strange, but what can I do. His crypticness has intrigued me that and I know him pretty well, knew him pretty well."

"You can't just go around making up words just because…"

"…and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. We have now landed in Mexico City. Local time is 2:34 pm. Have a pleasant day and we hope to see you soon." The man continued in Spanish as the passengers readied themselves.

-

"Your mate works here?" Nigel asked as they walked up to a small office building.

Sydney didn't answer him and walked into the office which seemed to have made up for its size with its quality.

Nigel followed behind, letting Sydney lead him through a hallway and into an office.

There Sydney knocked on the door and stepped boldly through the threshold. "Oscar! Did you think you could leave me outside to rot?"

Nigel stepped into the office and softly closed the door.

"Sydney, I've been waiting for you all week." Oscar Del la Torre replied softly, he stood up from his desk and greeted Sydney with a small embrace. "Who's your friend?"

"Nigel Bailey; I'm Sydney's teaching assistant." Nigel answered as he held out his hand and shook Oscar's. Oscar was about five inches taller than Nigel but Oscar seemed able to make himself shorter.

"Well, you are welcome here." Oscar said. He returned to his desk and motioned to the two black leather chairs in front of the desk, "Please take a seat."

Oscar started typing something into his computer and then turned around the flat screen so that Sydney and Nigel could see the image. "These ruins were just found on the outskirts of D.F. This is just a small village but it is interesting, no?"

The photograph depicted an aerial view of a few houses with a small Centro, surrounding the small village were trees.

"I was the one who found the ruins, so they rightly put me in charge of the excavation. We have dug up most of the village and I thought you could help us with something." Oscar said.

"What's wrong? This looks great, congrats on the discovery. How did you find it?" Sydney asked.

"Umm…well, that's the thing that's wrong." Oscar replied running his hand through his short dark brown hair, "I don't remember finding it."

"What do you remember?" Sydney asked.

"Ahh…I remember…I was in the woods…" Oscar trailed off and closed his light brown eyes for moment, "…with my fiancée, Anna Maria, we love exploring those hills on our free time. We found a small cave and we stopped for lunch. Anna wanted to go into the cave but I said that there wasn't time because we had to meet my parents that night for wedding plans. She said it would only take a minute and walked in before I could answer, I followed her to drag her out...and after that nothing. I woke up at the dig site and Anna was gone."

"Well, that's odd." Nigel supplied unnecessarily. "Where is the cave?"

"I can't remember, I've been searching for it everywhere, trying to retrace my steps but I can't find the cave. I've scoured the area where we were hiking, but I can't find the cave. I know you are a relic hunter but you were the first person that I could think of to help me. The police have lost all leads and I'm under suspicion of murder, but they have no evidence, no body, and I really can't remember…"

"Oscar, slow down," Sydney commanded and noted that he had not denied the accusation, "We'll help."

-

The morning sun warmed the dirt path. The birds sang softly and other than the slight rumble of an engine there were no other sounds of civilization.

Oscar stopped his red jeep and jumped out. He brought out their back packs and handed them out.

"Do we seriously have to hike there?" Nigel asked.

"There are no roads up there, although my jeep can take rough terrain the trees become dense in some places and we would not be able to pass through; we'll have to walk from here." Oscar answered, "Besides, I do not want to miss the cave."

Oscar locked up his car and led the way into the forest.

-

"I just don't like talk shows; I mean you can clearly see that it's all scripted." Nigel said as the trio moved quickly though the forest.

"What are you talking about! They're not scripted! Those people are just over dramatic. Plus, if they had a script the network would have to pay writers and that is something everyone tries to avoid." Oscar replied.

"They scripted that stuff! Nobody in their right minds would actually say those things."

"You have no idea what things people say in front of a camera."

"No self respecting person would ever go onto one of those shows and say 'Hey! I cheated on my wife about fifteen times and I have thirty five children in forty states!'"

"That doesn't make sense…"

"Exactly!"

"The shows are based on real people that come on and talk about their problems! They want help and they feel that the public can help them in ways that they can't individually!"

"They're nothing but rubbish! Just cheap entertainment to amuse housewives without anything better to do…"

"Cut it out!" Sydney broke in, entertaining as it might be, "I don't know if you realize it but you are arguing about talk shows. Really, both of you are fairly intelligent men of high education and you're arguing about talk shows."

Oscar and Nigel stared at Sydney.

"You can't say that they are nothing, there are episodes where there are people that show themselves to be upstanding." Oscar continued as if nothing had happened.

"Oscar! How about you tell us what happened that day…"

"But I told you five times all ready!"

"…because we must be close by now." Sydney said, "Nigel, not one more word on that subject for the rest of the trip."

"Syd! He needs to see…"

"Not _one_ word."

Nigel sighed, giving in.

"Oscar?"

"We had not traveled extremely far that day. Actually it was a slow day for us. We only traveled about five miles when we came across the cave." Oscar spoke softly as he recounted the day once more, for his benefit or for Sydney and Nigel's none were sure. "The cave should be around here somewhere."

"All right, let's split up." Sydney commanded.

"Aww…Sydney! That's never a good idea." Nigel complained.

"Do you want to spend the whole day searching for the cave?"

"No…"

"Good, then it's decided."

"But…" Nigel was going to contradict but nothing came into his mind.

"Nigel you take the west, Oscar east, and I'll go north." Sydney said, "Maintain radio contact for as long as possible."


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I don't know much about the geography of Mexico City, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't really matter. But if it does to you then fill me in and I'll change whatever is wrong.

DISCLAIMER (that is not in the beginning, but applies to the whole story): I am getting nothing from this story but a major headache because I want to finish it and I don't want to work on it at the same time! This and I own nothing, absolutely nothing, all I have are the clothes I am wearing now.

TITLE (also not in the beginning, but applies to the whole story): In the Cave of Wonders Many Never Come Out Because Once One Turns The Final Corner All Will Be Lost to Madness

---

Nigel stumbled into a small clearing. It looked like the place that Oscar had described to them. There was no way to see the clearing unless you tip toe on your right foot and lean 4 degrees to the left. But that is besides the point for Nigel just stumbled into the clearing without even looking.

"Sydney, Oscar, I think I found it. Syd, are you there?" Nigel breathed into his radio. "I am about seven miles southwest of our original position."

"I heard you Nigel; I think it'll take about an hour or so for us to get to there. Set up camp and we'll have lunch before we go in." Sydney replied.

"Nice of you to remind me of that wonderful day, Sydney" Oscar's voice crackled over the speakers.

"Sorry. But anyway, set up and don't go in until we get there." Sydney warned.

"Sure thing Sydney" Nigel said.

There wasn't much to do. Nigel took out the only blanket he had, laid it down on the stone floor that surrounded the cave and he figured he was pretty much set up.

After about ten minutes of doing nothing, five minutes of studying a flower, and three minutes of staring at a bird, which stared back until the cry of another bird scared it away, Nigel brought out his sandwich and began eating his lunch. He downed the sandwich with some water and using his backpack as a pillow he rested his eyes.

-

Sydney picked up Nigel's trail and was beginning to seriously regret ever deciding to split up.

The sun was still in the sky and she had been hiking as fast as she could for the last two hours, and in another three hours the sun would set. Which was good, they would have enough time to explore the cave before setting up camp.

Sydney stumbled through particularly thick bush. She pushed a branch out of the way and tripped over a hidden root but caught herself gracefully. Sydney stood up and straightened her clothes; she looked around and spotted Nigel's equipment on the ground, but no Nigel.

Sydney took out her radio, "Nigel, where are you?"

Sydney waited for an answer but there was nothing, "Nigel, come in." Sydney demanded.

There was static and then Oscar replied, "Sydney, what happened?"

"I'm in a clearing, Nigel was here, he set up camp but he's not here anymore."

"Maybe he got lost."

"How would he have managed that? He was here first, how can he get lost?"

"Did he go in the cave?" Oscar asked, avoiding her questions.

"Nigel wouldn't do that, he strongly believes that we should do things like that together." Sydney replied.

"Maybe it wasn't his choice." Oscar said.

Oscar's statement sank into Sydney and she desperately hoped that it was not the case. Sydney sighed, "Where are you, Oscar?"

"Right behind you" Oscar announced, struggling through the thick brush. Oscar shook off a few leaves that clung to his hair and walked towards Sydney.

Sydney took a good look around, half expecting Nigel to come out of the trees and explain that he was only taking leak. But Sydney heard nothing. There were no sounds from the rest of the forest, things went eerily quiet. Oscar noticed as well, "Sydney, we should search for Nigel."

Sydney nodded, but she wasn't sure where to start. Sydney kneeled down on the blanket and lightly touched it. She sighed again and stood up. "He must be around here somewhere."

"Sydney," Oscar hesitated, "I know this isn't a good time to tell you this, but I think that if I don't then things might get worst."

Sydney looked directly into Oscar's eyes, "What is it?"

Oscar took a deep breath, steadying himself and then he plunged into his explanation so that he would not have to think, "There is another reason that I called you here, besides the fact that my fiancée is missing. Some men approached me.

They knew everything, Syd. Everything and I didn't know what to do. They told me to contact you and to get you here, I'm not sure why and I'm still unsure, I didn't plan on calling you but then the disappearance and really that whole story is true and that is the only reason that I called you.

But then I found out that they were working for Jaime Lucero. Do you remember him, Syd? You know that guy who almost killed us? Well anyways, after that whole fiasco, Lucero went ballistic. He's been building up for something big, and no one had any idea what. But I found that it has something to do with these caves."

Sydney listened to Oscar, wondering how he managed to get all that out in only two breaths.

"What's with the caves?" Sydney demanded.

"There's a legend about a Spanish soldier and the sister of an Aztec general…" Oscar explained the whole story and then went back, "The Aztec general was arrested and executed for the murders of his friends and sister. They say that the caves were where the gods stored their power when they did not need them. The Aztec general stumbled onto it and the power drove him mad. Lucero wants that power."

"Is there anything that Lucero would want specifically?"

"Well there is a legend that says there is a jade collar in the caves that is the source of the gods' powers but that is purely legend. However, Lucero might think that it is fact."

"And where would our dear, sweet Nigel fit into all of this?"

"I don't know, Syd. This was never my plan…"

Sydney held up a hand to quiet Oscar from the rest of his explanation, and she moved to a patch of bushes that looked as if they had been trampled. At first glance, Sydney would have assumed that it was the path that Nigel had used to get into the clearing. However, if Nigel had entered that way he would have come from the north, instead of heading towards north.

Sydney carefully maneuvered herself to the other side of the lush bushes and found several footprints in the soft sand.

"Is Lucero here?" Sydney asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Come on, we need to find out if he has anything to do with Nigel's sudden disappearance."

"Sydney, are you sure about not checking the caves?"

Sydney debated this, she was positive that Nigel would not go into the caves without her but then there was a little nagging feeling that she might be wrong.

"Sydney, if you don't want to go into the caves, we can just yell into them and see if he answers."

That seemed to be a good idea. Sydney nodded and walked to the cave; she lowered her head and yelled into the dark caves, "NIGEL!"

---

He was slowly making his way deeper into the small cave, following the growing light.

He really wasn't sure what happened. He was sure that he had fallen asleep because this couldn't be real.

He had closed his eyes, and he _had_ fallen asleep, he knew he did.

But that would not explain why he was now walking.

That was not possible, if he was asleep, unless this was part of a dream.

This was getting annoying; if this was a dream then there should have been a giant floating banana somewhere. Nigel looked around expectedly but saw nothing remotely like a floating banana.

He had no memory of ever going into the cave. He would have waited for Sydney. This was not a something people do alone; at least something he wouldn't do alone.

Nigel finally registered what he saw around him. The light was stunningly beautiful it looked pure white but at the same time, Nigel could see that the light seemed to be made of many colors. The light seemed to warp around the walls and radiate from them.

Nigel curiously kept going deeper, the urge to find where the light originating from his top priority.

The stunning light played alluringly on the smooth cave walls growing brighter with each step Nigel took towards a sharp corner.

A sudden noise jerked him out of his trance and he tripped on his own feet. He landed roughly on the stone floor and let out a grunt of surprise as he realized this was reality.

He didn't know how long he had lay on the floor but he finally realized that someone was calling his name.

He shouted back in return and dazedly tried to get up.

Suddenly the light was gone, the blackness of the cave became consuming and Nigel let it consume him.

---

Sydney heard something resound on the cave walls and yelled once more into the cave. However the second time there was no reply. She tried a few more times before a voice called back out.

Sydney set down her backpack, quickly took out her flashlight and ran into the caves, keeping low so that she would not smash her head against the ceiling. Oscar followed behind, his pace much slower than Sydney's.

She wasn't sure how deep the cave went but there were no forks and she was grateful. Sydney ran until she saw a rough outline of something on the floor illuminated by her swinging beam of light.

Sydney slowed to a stop and focused her flashlight on the form, making sure that it was indeed Nigel.

Sydney rushed up to him. He looked physically all right but he was out cold.

"Nigel, Nigel," she said so gently and shook his shoulder but he made no move to prove that he was aware of her.

Sydney turned around and saw Oscar's dark form walking towards them. "Oscar! Get your ass over here!"

----

Voices, they sounded angry but he couldn't understand the conversation. His mind was numbly aware that something weird had just happened.

Nigel opened his eyes to see Sydney and Oscar in an animated discussion; however he still had no idea what they were talking about.

He slowly realized that he was lying on the blanket that he had laid out in front of the cave. He slowly sat up and then groaned as his head exploded in a sharp pain. He scrunched down low to get away from his headache, but they don't work that way. Hiding doesn't help. Nigel rubbed his temples and gradually looked up to find Sydney crouched next to him with her hands lightly massaging his shoulders.

"Nigel? Are you okay? What happened?" Sydney asked quietly, not caring if he could not answer at the moment.

Nigel groaned in response and continued to rub his temples. He propped his arms against his knees and put his head against his arms as Sydney continued her massage.

"I'm not sure. I was laying down here and then the next thing I remember I was about to turn a corner in the cave." Nigel said his voice slightly muffled.

"What hurts?" Sydney asked.

"Head"

"Do you want anything?"

"Home"

"Anything I can get you while we are in the middle of a lot of trees?"

"Honey"

"What's with the H's? Although your accent sort of take the H's out of your alphabet."

"Hurt"

"Okay, if the H's make you feel better."

"Hmmm…Syd?"

"Yes, Nigel."

"Aspirin, please?"

Sydney smiled, "Why don't you lie down, I don't think we're gonna be doing anything else today."

Nigel didn't reply as Sydney lowered him down. She found the aspirins and gave Nigel two, which he swallowed down with some water.

Sydney stood up and walked over to the cave, wondering what could have possessed Nigel to go into it without her.

Oscar hesitantly approached Sydney. "Sydney, maybe we should leave while we still can. I mean there is evidence that other people have been here."

Sydney looked tiredly at Oscar, "I know, but we can't really go anywhere until Nigel can actually get up, so our best bet is early tomorrow morning." Sydney glanced at Nigel's sleeping form, "We can last the night. Besides what's the worst that can happen?"

"What are the famous last words of all horror movie actors?" Oscar said half seriously and smiled in spite of himself.

"That probably does jinx everything," Sydney thought out, "But it's too late to take it back now."


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Hurray!! A new chapter! Aren't you proud of me?! You're not... I'm sad… that's what I look like.

---

"This is really good." Sydney said as she ate the stew that Oscar had made, "What is it?"

Oscar smiled mysteriously and continued to eat, "Do you think Nigel wants any?"

"Probably, but he's kinda asleep."

"Sleeping is good." He paused and continued, "I like to sleep." Oscar nodded, "We should go to sleep together." Oscar stated, "Oh, shit that came out wrong."

Sydney laughed, "Finish your stew." She stood up, laid out the blanket she had brought, and fell asleep next to Nigel.

Oscar covered the left over stew in a container and cleaned up after their dinner. He took out his blanket and laid it down when he heard something snap in the bushes.

Oscar froze and listened again for the sound, however nothing else came.

Oscar moved casually to his pack and removed a small knife. He hid it under his arm and walked near Sydney. He sat down and hoped that the sound was nothing.

A few minutes passed nothing except the sharp chirps of crickets pierced the air.

Oscar started to relax; surly nothing could have that attention span.

Standing watch was extremely boring, especially in Oscar's opinion. He wasn't sure but he might have had ADD. Of course this wasn't for sure because although he did try to take the internet test he never could finish but that was because he was extremely busy with his job or the pictures on his desk or the birds outside or the coffee cup or the games or the carpet.

Anyway now that he had nothing interesting to do he was now annoyingly aware of that fact. He wondered how long he actually had to stay up because there was no way that Nigel would stand guard because Sydney won't allow it and that would mean that he would have to stay up at least half the night. What was he going to do?

Oscar stood up and walked in a small circle around their camp. He did this for as long as he could but near the third circle he made he was getting bored. Then he heard it.

A small rustle whispered through the trees and Oscar froze. He strained to hear it again but deadly silence met him.

Oscar nervously walked towards Sydney. His hand levitated an inch from Sydney's shoulder when he was efficiently and silently pulled back. A cloth covered hand placed itself on Oscar's mouth and smothered his nose as well. After a small struggle, Oscar lost himself to the darkness of his mind.

---

The guy who found aspirin was a genius. Lucky bastard probably stumbled upon the discovery though.

Nigel's head no longer pounded and he felt much better but he kept his eyes closed because he was still a little tired.

Nigel began drifting into sleep when a voice interrupted him.

"What is the importance this woman?" funny, Nigel didn't recognize this voice.

"What did I say about questions?" another voice replied.

A slight pause, "Don't ask unless you're sure someone will answer?"

There was a sigh, "Why was that stated in a question?"

"How should I know?"

"You know what? We're not having this discussion again! Just do what I tell you to and don't ask so many questions or I'll fire your ass."

The weirdest thing was that Nigel wasn't entirely sure what language they were speaking. Not that it mattered much because he and Sydney were fluent in many languages, but it was a funny feeling.

Nigel opened his eyes a crack and could make out a set of bars and two men beyond them in enthralled discussion.

Listening carefully he could make out Sydney's soft breathing and he absently wondered what was going on.

The two men's voices became muffled as they moved out of the room.

Nigel sat up quickly and took in their cell. It was small and being shared by three people. Sometimes he wondered why the bad guys always chose to put them into the same cell without any restraints.

But then he realized they were too poor to do any better.

Three cots took up each wall and the small cement floor took up the rest of the space in the cell. The barred doors swung inward so it was impossible to tell how they were suppose move when their captures wanted to come into the cell.

Nigel reached over; he did not have to get up, and shook Sydney's shoulder. She woke up with frightening speed, almost toppling over the small cot.

"Sydney, are you all right?" Nigel asked, even though he could physically see that she was fine.

She breathed in the stale air and looked carefully around her. Sydney knew this place. The last time she was here she spent a week in the cell.

"Sydney?" Nigel asked again.

"I'm fine, Nige, just remembering some things." She answered tiredly.

"Should we wake Oscar up?"

"If you do, you might have to entertain him. Did you know he has ADD?"

"We let him sleep."

Sydney smiled briefly and tried to think of a way out of this. The three stone walls left little option, so she would have to attack when they came in. However with the amount of space in the cell, it was would prove difficult as well.

---

"How's your head?" Oscar asked, he woke up about five minutes ago and this was all ready his 20th question.

"Well, the jackhammer's gone, but the sledgehammer is a different story."

Oscar nodded, "What happened in there?"

At the question Sydney stopped thinking and looked up at Nigel.

Nigel shrugged, "I don't know, one minute I'm sleeping and the other I was walking through the cave. Syd, I wasn't planning on going in there alone."

Sydney smiled lightly, "I know, Nigel, but we still don't know what made you go in."

"Do you know why they want us?" Nigel asked.

"Jamie Lucero. Big time crime lord of the D.F.'s underworld. Don't cross unless you know you can survive." Oscar answered.

"Which is exactly what we did not do, isn't that just great? Another psycho path to deal with." Sydney muttered.

"Mmmm…okay," Nigel paused, "Now, can you tell me the whole story?"

---

"The Aztecs believed that creation began in a cave. It makes perfect sense for the gods to the store their unused power in a cave." Nigel explained.

The silence that followed was long but not uncomfortable. Each person was in their own thoughts before the patterned thump of footsteps resounded through the door.

Oscar looked at Sydney, "I have a plan."

Sydney winced, "It's not stupid, is it?"

Oscar smiled but did not reply.

"Guess that depends on point of view." Nigel shrugged, "Do we get to know it?"

Oscar motioned for Sydney and Nigel to sit on the same cot as he was, the cot that pressed up against the opposite wall of the cell bars.

Two guards burst through the wooden door along with a man in a clean white suit.

"Lucero" Sydney said in greeting.

Lucero inclined his head in reply and ordered one of the guards in a low voice.

The guard nodded and trained his hand gun at the three.

"David, el gringo." Lucero commanded and walked out of the room.

David came forward and unlocked the cell door leaving only half of the cell in possible use. He reached to grab Nigel but Sydney knocked his arm back.

Oscar picked this time to attack and kicked out at David, causing the guard to fall forward enough for Sydney to assault.

In one solid movement, Sydney smashed David's temple with her fist and stood up on the cot. She swung a kick that knocked David into the wall.

Nigel jumped up and dove on top of David, making sure that the guard would stay down while Oscar pulled out David's hand gun.

A click resounded through the room, "Don't move." The guard trained his gun at Sydney as he un-strapped his radio and called in for back up.

The guard motioned his gun in the direction of Nigel and Oscar. "Get off him."

Nigel jumped up off David and Oscar backed up a little.

"David?"

David didn't answer and the guard spared a glance at the door. "Ahh….van al otro lado."

Oscar, Sydney, and Nigel looked at him, not exactly sure what he meant by that.

The guard motioned to the half of the cell which was blocked by the door and the three moved behind it.

"Gringo, traes David fuera." The guard told Nigel.

Nigel moved out of the cut up cell and towards David. He bent down to a crouch near David's head and hooked David's arm around his shoulders and stood up slowly. David was heavy but Nigel was going to do what the man with the gun was telling him to do.

It was hard to angle around the open cell door which stuck obtrusively in front of the opening but Nigel did not trip until they were both out of the cell, where he and David tumbled ungracefully to the floor.

David had somehow landed on top of Nigel and seemed to have no intention of moving. "Little help?" Nigel breathed heavily.

The guard moved forward, his eyes on Sydney and Oscar the whole time. He glanced down to find David's arm and quickly looked up again.

He reached down this time without looking and pulled David off of Nigel. The guard kept his eyes steady on Sydney and Oscar as he freed Nigel from David's weight.

Nigel quickly swung a kick to the back of the guard's knees. This instantly brought the guard down while Sydney and David rushed out of the small confinement to help.

Sydney quickly took out the guard and ran to the door. She checked the hallway and motioned for Oscar and Nigel to hurry.

Oscar helped Nigel up and they ran.

---

"If I remember correctly then the exit should be right around the corner." Sydney said.

"And if I remember correctly then there would be at least four guards there waiting for us." Oscar supplied.

Sydney glanced around the corner and did not see any guards, surprisingly.

"Where are these so called guards?" Nigel questioned.

Sydney shrugged but she was not going to argue. She waved for them to follow her and Sydney ran forwards. Nigel and Oscar ran after Sydney through the bright hall way and into the foyer. It looked like a normal house up here. Completely and utterly normal, not one thing suggested that it held a prison in the basement or that it could deal drugs behind closed walls and offer sex in private rooms. It was just normal, for a mansion.

Just as she was about to open the door a voice screamed, "STOP!"

"I knew that was too easy." Oscar complained.

"Turn around" the same voice commanded.

In a voice low enough so that only Nigel and Sydney could hear, Oscar said, "Ready?"

Sydney held onto Nigel's arm, keeping him in her time so that they could run together whenever Oscar said to.

"I said turn around" They didn't know that Oscar had a gun. And they didn't know that Oscar would aim so high.

Oscar shot the major chain that supported the chandelier as Sydney opened the door. Oscar ushered them all out while the crashing chandelier muffled the sound of their escape.

---

Six all terrain jeeps sat outside in an ordered row facing the mansion and in the far distance Sydney could make out a solid white wall, just as she remembered. And better yet, they didn't know how she got out last time so there would be no problem this time with the same method.

Sydney ran to the nearest vehicle, "Oscar, Nigel, cut the other cars. Make sure they can't follow for now."

Sydney opened the door and ducked under the steering wheel. She hot wired the car in less than three minutes and jumped into the driver's seat.

Oscar finished on the third car and jumped into the passenger seat.

"Where's Nigel?" Sydney asked.

"I thought he was done." A shrugged followed the reply.

Sydney leaned out the car window, "Nigel!"

"Yes?" the answer came from the last car in the row.

"Hurry!"

"Coming!"

A flash caught Sydney's eyes and Sydney looked up at the three story house, searching for the same light. One of the windows was open and a man stood there aiming a rifle in Nigel's direction.

Before Sydney could shout out a warning a shot shattered the air.

---

AN:P


	5. Chapter 5

AN: well this has taken a while to put up but I'm sure that you're glad its here, unless….. Hmmm, I'm not sure when I'll update next but I don't think it will be too long

---

Jamie Lucero was not someone a person would like to cross, in a dark alley or otherwise. His anger was feared by many, it was calculated and cold, and he utterly destroyed his opponent without the slightest hint of any mercy. He did not forgive and he will never forget.

He had been planning his revenge for months. Every detail had been perfected but he did not count on Sydney's teaching assistant.

The boy was a surprise and now was an encumbrance as well as leverage to his friends but he there was no problem that Lucero could foresee. Their escape attempt had been expected and Lucero's men were prepared for their flight.

Tomorrow his plan would be set in motion and Fox would be repaid in full.

---

"That was a total waste of time." Oscar stated as he rubbed his hands together. They were back where they started, which wasn't that bad.

Sydney didn't answer and kept vigil over Nigel. He was more or less all right. The bullet had only grazed his left temple. He was bleeding a lot but that tended to happen with facial wounds.

"Sydney," Oscar hesitated, "there's something else I need to tell you."

Sydney straightened up and listened intently to Oscar however she kept her eyes on Nigel's sleeping form. Boy, was he going to have a headache when he got up.

"Lucero might have gotten the impression that you had more to do with the death of his wife than you actually had." Oscar said.

Sydney looked up, "What?"

"Well, remember…"

_Sydney had gone to Mexico for a nice relaxing two week vacation but as usual her plans went to hell. Maybe if she just went some where, where there were no other people she could finally relax. But no, she let Oscar convince her to go and visit him. _

_She should have known that something like this would have happened, being with Oscar often entitles getting into trouble because of the motley people he knew. _

_Sydney blocked another kick and jumped onto the bar table of the _Costa Azul_ hotel. _

_Then again, this one was at least a little of her fault. But it was mostly Oscar's fault. _

_Oscar apparently owed money to Jamie Lucero since the second grade. Five pesos, which is equal to about fifty cents, used to buy candy and other assorted junk that only children would buy. However, Oscar never paid and Lucero never forgot. _

_Funny thing to be angry over and Oscar could just as easily pay Lucero now, but their relationship had become strained due to the fact that Oscar hadn't paid. _

_Then Oscar had the brains to hit on the guy's wife. She had flirted back but Lucero, of course, blamed Oscar for the exchange completely and, well, that lead to what Sydney was doing right now. _

_The guy Sydney was fighting was pretty good, street good but good nonetheless. Sydney jumped behind the counter as the guy threw a stool over the bar hoping to hit Sydney. Sydney found a few bottles, still full, of wine under the counter and glanced over the bar at her assailant. He was about to climb over the bar and Sydney threw the wine bottles at him. _

_None of the bottles hit the man, but Sydney was only using them as a distraction. As she threw the last bottle Sydney jumped back on top of the bar table and, from the bar, tackled the man to the floor. _

_Sydney quickly knocked him out and, ignoring the staring and stunned patrons, walked to lobby. _

"Yeah, I remember that pretty well." Sydney said as her attention shifted towards Nigel once more as Nigel's face crinkled into a frown. Sydney gently caressed Nigel's brow and whispered softly until he relaxed once more.

"Ah…while you were doing that," Oscar continued, "I was…"

_Oscar stood just outside the lobby door trying his best to 'woo' Lucero's girl. He knew it was a bad idea but the girl was just so damn pretty. _

"_Oscar!" a voice behind him yelled and Oscar turned to see Sydney angrily march out of the bar room and straight to him. She looked a little disheveled and completely pissed. _

"_What's wrong, Sydney?" Oscar looked shyly at her and gave her his best innocent smile. It didn't work. _

"_Your _friend _and I just had a little _chat_." Sydney glared, "We are leaving and you are in so much trouble." _

_Sydney grabbed him by his shirt sleeve and began to drag him towards the front door of the hotel. Oscar gave Lucero's girl an apologizing gaze and quickly turned to walk with Sydney. _

_They were half way to the door when a shout caused both of them to stop. _

_The guy Sydney was fighting with earlier had woken up with a nasty gash which bled freely and made a nice crimson trail on the wood floor. _

_The guy lunged at Sydney with a knife he had found but Sydney easily grabbed his arm and twisted, trying to get the knife. _

_The man held tight and broke contact with Sydney. He backed up and circled around Sydney until he blocked the front door. _

_Oscar was not wasting his time, what he was doing while Sydney fought for their lives was very important. He was currently soothing Lucero's girl, because it might come in handy later. _

_Oscar calmed her down and was walking her out of harms way when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Oscar looked over to see Lucero himself. _

"_Hi," Oscar smiled nonchalantly, "How are you doing today?"_

_Lucero's frown deepened and he gave Oscar an uppercut. Oscar sprawled to the floor and Lucero grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up. Lucero swung again and this time Oscar ducked and kicked out at the same time, kicking Lucero in the shin. Lucero staggered to the ground and Oscar took the opportunity to kick Lucero's face. _

_Lucero blocked Oscar's kick and flipped him to the floor. He jumped on Oscar and was about to knock his lights out when his girl yelled at him to stop. She came forward and to try and get Lucero off of Oscar but at that moment Sydney's assailant decided to, once again, lunge at Sydney, Sydney dodged him at the last moment. The assailant's momentum carried him into Lucero's girl. The knife plunged into her stomach with a sickening crunch, cutting through her lower rib cage. _

_Lucero forgot about Oscar and leapt up. Anger coursed through his veins as he charged into his own hired man. Lucero beat the guy senseless all the while telling himself that his girl was going to be fine and that the man had to pay. _

"He thinks that you not only stepped out of the way but propelled the guy in our direction." Oscar finished.

Sydney nodded, "I suppose this is all revenge."

"Yep," Oscar said as he got under the thin blanket their captors provided and twisted around a little to get comfortable, "Get some rest, Sydney."

Sydney didn't answer, she wasn't tired and she wanted to figure a way out of this one. They weren't expected to be back in states for another three days. A lot could happen in three days and unless there was some huge emergency, no one was going to contact them. Mostly because it was spring break.

---

Light played softly on stone walls and silence filled the universe. Nigel lost himself, trying to pinpoint the exact color but it was impossible. The colors would not cooperate with him and continued their cryptic battle.

Nigel listlessly reached out a hand to touch the beautiful light, but once his hand touch the surface a painful fire instantly shot up his arm. He pulled away quickly and hugged against his body, when his arm touched his body the pain seemed to intensify. He used his working arm and tried to ease the pain. However, the movement made shot white flashes of lighting to the bone. Nigel gasped and doubled over. His stomach was rolling, twisting with the pain. His head pounded the rhythm and the fire in his arm danced with it.

Nigel dropped to the ground as the colors began to spin around him. The colors surge together in a whirlwind of light.

The colors continued to swirl and Nigel's stomach spun with them. Black spots entered his vision as he emptied his stomach.

---

Sydney watched Nigel's chest slowly rise and fall. Over the past three years they had been through so much together and Sydney knew that her life would be very different if Nigel weren't there.

He made things hard at times but his presence eased things for her in a way she couldn't explain. Sydney off handedly noticed that Nigel's breathing had become shallow and she slid off her cot and kneeled next to Nigel's.

Drops of sweat dotted his forehead and a frown graced his face. Sydney took the remaining cloth left over from Oscar's undershirt and wiped the sweat away. She lightly caressed Nigel's cheek and tried to soothe him but his breathing came faster.

His face twisted in unknown pain and his body shook with it.

Sydney held him down as the tossing became worse, suddenly he groaned and turned over onto his side, curling himself into fetal position.

Sydney turned and shook Oscar awake. "Help me."

Oscar rubbed his eyes and looked over just as Nigel leaned over the bed and threw up what little he had.

"Damn" Sydney cursed and hurried over to Nigel's side, avoiding the small puddle of vomit.

"Nigel? Nigel, are you with us?" Sydney asked as she cleaned him up with a spare piece of cloth.

Nigel answered with a moan then curled back into a ball and settled into a light doze.

Sydney felt Nigel's forehead although there was no sign of fever. She adjusted his sheet and kissed his cheek softly.

"Go to sleep, Syd." Oscar whispered, watching the small exchange.

Sydney lay down and stared at the ceiling even though there wasn't much to look at. It was of the same gray brick that surrounded them.

She heard sheets move and looked over at Nigel. He seemed all right now.

She needed to find a way out of this.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Guess this took longer than I expected. This was all I could crank out in a month. Don't know about the next chapter, looks like you'll just have to keep a look out.

---

Lucero considered himself to be an honorable man. Although he has killed he had never taken a life that did not deserve to be taken, at least according to his own personal view.

Sydney Fox had to die. He needed to kill her.

She had taken the one thing in the world he had cared about. The one person that could make everything better once the day was over. She was the only person that could look at him with such love and trust, but she was gone now. His baby girl was dead because Sydney Fox prevented him from using the one thing that could save her.

_He was in Florida, trying to escape the hurt from his wife's death. His seven year old daughter sat in his lap and stared out at the passing terrain. Her hair had long ago been lost, but her eyes still glowed with life. She was beautiful. _

_They were here for business as well as pleasure and even though he knew that was never a good mix, he felt that his daughter needed some time to enjoy life after a brush with mortality, her mother's as well as her own. _

_So he left her in the care of her personal doctor as he went to seal a deal. He had been searching for the cave for months and there were people who said they had the map. He knew that the cave was a legend but he had a feeling that it was real. And when he found it, he would have to power to save his daughter. _

_She suffered from Leukemia and he knew that time was starting to run out. He couldn't lose her; she was the last person he had left. The cave was the answer. It held the power of the gods and if he could find the jade collar he could save her. _

_He stood facing the men who had his salvation. Their price was high, most likely unreasonable, but he was willing to pay it. With a wave of his hand his men produced the two suit cases stacked full with cash. The men handed over a decorative wooden box. He opened it and inside was a parchment, hand copied hundreds of years ago._

_He looked over the parchment and placed it reverently back into the box. _

_The men left and he and his own followed. He was personally holding the box and leading the way to his car when a woman dashed out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground. She was stunning to say in the least. Dark skin, almond eyes, and black hair falling everywhere, she was a hard one to miss. At first he thought she had just knocked him down on accident but before he knew what was happening she picked up the box and ran, jumping into a moving vehicle and taking off with his last chance of saving his daughter. _

_He yelled furiously at his men and they tried to follow her, but she had gotten away. _

_He furiously went back to the hotel; he had to see his little girl again. She didn't know what he was trying to do, but he had promised her that he would do everything that he could to make sure that she was all right. He felt like he was failing her. She deserved to live, she shouldn't die. Not now, not when her life was just beginning. He would gladly trade places with her if he could. But he was helpless and the one shot he had to save her, he blew. _

_When the doctor saw him he hung up and tried to keep him out of the room. Lucero pushed him out of the way and opened the door. _

_He walked in to find his daughter lifelessly slumped on the bed. He moved carefully. Almost disbelievingly towards her. She was so little compared the queen sized bed. Her angelic face was pale against the dark yellow covers, contrasting deeply with her long black hair. _

_He kneeled down next to the bed and touched her face, hoping that this was just a misunderstanding. Her head lolled limply to face him and he cried softly. He distantly heard the doctor say that she went peacefully but he didn't see how that could help. It didn't change the fact that she was gone. It didn't change the fact that she wasn't suppose to die. _

Lucero took a sip of his drink, shaking away the memory of what followed that fateful afternoon and thought of what he could do now.

---

They took him.

They had no reason to take him. Lucero had nothing against Nigel. Only her.

Why would they take him?

Sydney paced their small cell, practically walking in a small circle, scrutinizing each brick as she passed.

"Sydney," Oscar called, "that's not going to accomplish anything."

Sydney didn't answer but she knew he was right. But she didn't know what else to do. The only way out of the cell was the door and they blew the only chance they had with that.

Sydney took a claming breath and sat down on the cot which paralleled the bars. She stared at the bars but looked past them. She let herself go, losing the anger, confusion, and anxiety.

She began to come back to herself when she realized that the only way to get out is to find the right opportunity and that meant they had to wait.

They waited in silence for what seemed like hours although Oscar reassured her that it was only one hour.

"What does he want?" Sydney broke the thoughtful silence which Oscar somehow maintained. "He still wants the jade collar, but what does he want from Nigel?"

Oscar sighed, "I think you know, Syd, but accepting it is a different story."

On some level she knew. She knew that Lucero found a way to hurt her as much as he was hurt by life. But she couldn't see any deeper at the moment. She was too worried. Too preoccupied had just been done, what was going to be done.

---

At first there was nothing but fear but soon that dissipated because of the suspense then the suspense turned into boredom and he had to wonder how that happened. He was terrified at first but now he was bored stiff.

Then again, sitting in a dark room, on what felt like to be a wooden chair, blind folded and tied up left one with very little things to do.

Nigel tried to keep track of time but he could only estimate that it had been under an hour even though he felt like it could be more.

His thoughts began to drift and he felt like sleeping again but he fought it. He didn't like the light, it was beautiful, memorizing, and even desirable but he knew it was dangerous. It held power he never knew could exists and it told him he didn't belong there.

He tried to leave but couldn't find the way out. He knew telling Sydney would result in unneeded worry, so he knew keeping quiet was the best way to deal with this until they got out of Lucero's prison.

Then the door creaked open and the boredom instantly turned into terror. He sensed people walking into the room, although he couldn't tell how many, he was sure that there were at least three.

Footsteps came closer to him and he tried to scoot away but that was impossible. Rough hands removed the blind fold and stood him up. Nigel experimentally pulled on the ropes still binding his hands behind his back but that only caused the rope to sink further into his broken flesh.

There were three men, like he suspected. Two of which who were easily over six feet tall and built like a house, while the other man didn't look like he belonged there. he wore a black suit with a red tie on top of a dark blue dress shirt.

Nigel watched them warily as Lucero motioned for his guards to block the door. Nigel tried to stand up tall and show that he was afraid, but the problem was, he was scared shitless. So he did his best to prove otherwise.

Lucero walked around him and kicked the chair away when it got in his path. As Lucero circled him, Nigel stood stalk still, waiting for whatever Lucero wanted to do, because he knew there was no way he could stop him.

Starting on his second round, Lucero flicked a small knife out of his pocket. Nigel's heart was thundering in his chest, he had always felt that psychopaths shouldn't wield weapons of any sort.

Lucero must have seen him flinch, "Do not worry," Lucero comforted eerily, "you will live."

"That's comforting," Nigel muttered.

To Nigel's surprise, Lucero smiled, "You Americans and your sarcasm."

Nigel kept quiet but it was hard. He wasn't insulted that he was mistaken for an American but he wanted to correct him so much.

Lucero stood behind him and Nigel felt the knife run lightly down his arm. Nigel repressed the impulse to shiver and felt Lucero smile.

"You may not know this," Lucero explained, the knife paused near his wrists. He could feel the cold steel brushing against his skin. "But Ms. Fox has done me a great wrong. And the only way to repay her is through you."

A chill ran through Nigel as Lucero grabbed his bound wrists and held them still. "This is nothing personal, but this must be done."

Nigel felt the knife come closer, then the flat of the knife was pressed against his skin and the rope was gone. Blood began to rush into his hands as Nigel wondered when they went numb. He wrapped his arms across his chest and rubbed his wrists absently.

Lucero stood against him, one arm draped over his shoulder, his other arm holding the knife half a foot from his side. "You understand." Lucero stated and drove the knife into Nigel's side, right below his ribs.

Nigel cried out and tried to wrench the steel out but Lucero shoved his hands away then turned him until they were face to face. For a moment Nigel actually looked at the man and realized that Lucero saw him as a means to a solution. Nigel knew that the man would not be overcome by emotion because he had lost those pesky things long ago. He lived for revenge.

Lucero punched him hard, knocking him off his feet and onto the cement floor. His head was reeling, he propped himself on his elbows and watched as Lucero walked out the door, commanding his men to finish this up and put him back.

Nigel leaned his weight over and pulled the knife out, sticking it in one of the pockets in his cargo shorts, it was small but it was something.

He collapsed against the cement floor as he watched the two lumbering oafs gaining up on him.

---

Oscar sat quietly watching Sydney fret over her friend. He liked Nigel enough, but they had only just met so even though he was worried, he wasn't that worried.

The door banged opened, startling Oscar out of his thoughts and two men entered the room dragging Nigel between them. Blood ran from his nose and lips blazing a path down his throat. While bruises and cuts scattered across his arms and legs.

The men ordered Oscar and Sydney to back up against the far wall then one of them opened the door while the other flung Nigel onto the cell floor. The guards locked the door and left without a word.

Nigel stayed on the floor, flat on his back with one arm slung over his diaphragm holding himself in a half hug. His breaths were short and strained as he tried desperately to breathe deep enough. Oscar looked closer he took in the blood that stained Nigel's shirt and how his hand was trying to inhibit the blood flow.

Oscar and Sydney gently picked him up and laid him on his cot. Sydney quickly and efficiently took off Nigel's shirt and handed it to Oscar. "Get some water."

Oscar picked up a cup of water they had given them that morning and soaked a small portion of the shirt. He handed the shirt back to Sydney and took a good look at Nigel. He was pale, bruised, and bloody, but he looked like he would survive the night.

Instead of being reassured, Oscar was now bothered. Lucero seemed to have a lot planned out for them.

---

While Nigel tried to get to sleep, Sydney and Oscar were discussing their plan of action. Which amounted to very little, but it was the most they could do.

Nigel pulled the thin blanket tighter around him, but it was no use. No matter how hard he tried he was still cold. His shirt was now wrapped around the knife wound and he was left with a tattered rag, no matter how much he tried he was still freezing. Then again that might have been shock…

He would have to think about this, but thinking took too much so he was going to go to sleep. He tried to get comfortable but there didn't seem to be a way that he could without pain, so he settled for an awkward angel that avoided the most of it.

Nigel began drifting away when he heard a distant shout. Oscar must have gotten one of his ideas again, which he must admit, aren't half bad.

---

Sydney sat against the wall on her cot. She had a good view of Nigel from here and she didn't want him out of her sight at the moment.

She didn't know what to think. This couldn't even be possible. But she saw it with her own eyes and she wasn't about to doubt herself there, they would all be in serious trouble if she doubted herself there.

Nigel was fine; all his injuries had mysteriously healed overnight. Impossibly.

She wondered if she was dreaming but dismissed the thought as soon as it came to her. When she had woken up she decided to check and make sure Nigel was still, well _alive_, he was fine. The lesser cuts and bruises were gone, leaving nothing but smooth skin. The deep gash below his rib cage was reduced to a light bruise. His ribs, had been at least fractured last night, but as Sydney gently felt them today, they felt fine. She then carefully pealed the makeshift tourniquet off of Nigel's head and saw that the graze was now completely gone.

She sighed, this didn't make any sense. But she was only frustrated with that, as far as she was concerned it was miraculous.

Both boys were still asleep and she took the time to collect herself. Once the guards flipped on the lights, it would be time for their one and only meal of the day.

Sydney closed her eyes and breathed deeply, clearing her mind. After a few minutes she heard footsteps coming and then the door slammed open, like always. They seemed to think that they had to slam a door open or shut around here.

Sydney nudged Oscar, waking him up almost instantly although he stayed still as if he were still sleeping.

One of the two guards held a tray while the other walked up to the door. He took a glance at Sydney and the two sleeping and opened the door without a word. The first guard entered the cell and set the tray on Sydney's cot. As the other guard kept watch, the first guard then faced Nigel's cot. He stared down for a moment and Sydney glared at the guard. "Get away from him."

The guard didn't reply and roughly shook Nigel. Nigel didn't even move. He must have been more tired than Sydney suspected.

The guard tried again and met the same results; he turned to his partner and shrugged. The other guard sighed and motioned for him to get out. They slammed and locked the door, leaving them alone once more.

---

AN: Are you starting to like the turns this is taking?


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Hurray! Its finally finished!

---

"Why didn't you do anything?" Sydney hissed.

"It's daytime," Oscar explained easily, "We won't get anywhere now."

"It also means they're not going to expect it." Sydney shot back.

"Unless they expect the unexpected," Nigel grumbled causing Sydney to rush to his cot, which only required her to get off her bed and kneel next to his, "God, Syd, can't a man get some sleep around here?"

Sydney smiled, "You've been sleeping enough for the three of us."

Nigel groaned and turned over, facing the wall.

"Nigel?" Sydney received a grunt but she needed to know, "How do you feel?"

"Tired, now go away." he relied, his voice slow and muffled.

Sydney caressed his bicep, "Other than that."

Nigel groaned again, "A little soar, please stop pestering me."

"Nothing else? Nothing at all?" Sydney pressed.

Then it must have hit Nigel as he sat up suddenly, staring blankly through the bars ahead of them.

"You looked ready to die last night." Oscar added. Sydney swatted his leg.

But at least Nigel faced turned to face them now. "What?"

Sydney eyed him carefully, "You don't remember?"

Nigel blankly stared at her. "I'm starting to get really tired of that question."

"They came, took you, beat you up, and put you back." Oscar explained simply.

"I recall the first three incidents." Nigel heavily leaned against the wall. "Are you all right, Sydney?"

Sydney joined Nigel by the wall, "There was so much blood."

As she said this Nigel looked at his cot, and sure enough he saw crimson stains almost covering it. "That's a lot."

"Nigel," Sydney called, "Can you tell us anything about the cave? Anything at all?"

Nigel shrugged a few moments passed in silence, "I was walking through the cave towards this light. It was absolutely beautiful, but then I heard you and the light went away."

Oscar startled up, "What color was the light?"

"I couldn't tell, it was like all the colors together, why?"

"Well I had this friend, he seemed completely normal and he loved coming to this forest. I was out of the country, on business at the time, but his neighbor told me that my friend came home one day, yelling about lights and brandishing a handgun. He killed everyone at his home. The police found him passed out in the middle of his living room, he said he remembered nothing but knew that he'd done it. He killed him-"

"Oscar, breathe." Sydney commanded.

---

They were coming back for him. He knew it once they opened the door. He didn't want to go but he didn't have much choice in the matter.

He hoped Oscar's plan worked because if it doesn't then he'll go through another round with the ugly idiots.

Nigel wasn't sure what the cave had done to him. It was helping him. He felt completely drained though. A side effect of it most likely. The more he thought about it the more it made sense. The power of the gods and could do anything. Absolutely anything. Maybe Lucero wasn't crazy as they thought he was.

The cave was helping him. Maybe if he kept telling himself that it would start to sound normal.

The guards opened the door and one of them came inside. He hoped he had enough energy to run because he sure didn't have enough to fight.

The guard neared his bed and grabbed his arm. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Oscar surge up and tackle the guard who stood outside to the ground as Sydney kicked the guy who had his arm where the sun don't shine.

It wasn't nice but he didn't feel like complaining right now.

Sydney helped him up and pulled Nigel out of the cell as Oscar stuffed the other guard in and slammed the door shut.

"Ha!" Oscar yelled triumphantly, "How do you like being on the other side of that?"

"Oscar!" Sydney urgently tilted her head towards the door.

"Sorry." Oscar expertly led them through the mansion.

"This seems oddly familiar, Syd." Nigel breathed, his heart was pounding and they were only walking.

"Don't worry." Sydney half carried him along, "We'll get out this time."

The moonlight played on the walls, eerily reminded him of the cave. They silently made their way through the mansion, carefully avoiding the security cameras, which Oscar had somehow known to identify.

Eventually they made it out of the mansion without detection and to the garage.

"There's a way out this way?" Sydney asked.

"I don't know something just told me to do this." Oscar answered as they jumped into an all terrain pick up truck. "We have to move fast."

Oscar jumped into the cab and started up the engine as Sydney helped him into the car. She jumped in after him just as white lights blinded them from all directions.

Oscar stepped on the gas and they shot through the garage door. Wooden splinters rained on down and they raced off towards an unknown exit.

"Sydney," Oscar commanded importantly, "There's a gate up ahead. The override code is 734270135."

Sydney nodded as she committed the numbers to memory. Not questioning where the information had come from.

Lights bounced off the ceiling and Nigel turned around to see Lucero's men pursuing them. "They're coming."

Oscar stepped on the gas harder but it didn't make much of a difference. Suddenly he jammed down on the break, almost throwing Nigel into the windshield.

Sydney had been prepared and had already opened the door before the car had come to a complete stop.

Sydney frantically punched in the numbers and cried out when the machine made a negative sound. She tried again and met the same results.

The lights were getting brighter. She had to hurry and Nigel wanted to scream but knew it wouldn't help.

"Oscar, the code!" Sydney yelled without turning around.

"7-3-4-2-7-0-1-3-5"

The gate grumbled and started to open as Sydney ran back into the car. She jumped in and Oscar sped through the gate which was opened barely enough to fit them through.

They were right behind them now but their cars didn't seem any faster than theirs. As long as nothing unexpected came up they might make it.

---

"Sydney please, I'm all right, I just want to go take a shower." Nigel complained loudly.

"Ok, fine." Sydney answered. The car chase had been an edgy hour but once they made it back into DF, Lucero's men had backed off.

She sat down on the hotel bed and listened to the water running. It wasn't over. She knew that much for sure. Whatever had happened in the cave still affected them.

She supposed that the cave did nothing too bad but it wasn't…right. It was somehow wrong to be healed like that with such a great power.

A light knock brought her out of her musings. "Sydney, it's me!" Oscar shouted through the door.

Sydney locked the door after him and sat back on the bed.

"Look," Oscar held out two plane tickets, "I don't want you to be any more involved with this, go home."

Sydney frowned, "How are we not involved? I think we're pretty critical in this mess."

"I know, but he's going to come after you." Oscar replied lowly, "but if you get back home, he might not do anything."

"Might. He may come after us with all he's got."

"Still," Oscar persisted, "Nigel doesn't belong in any of this. Get home."

Sydney nodded. She hated running away but it was the only thing that seemed to make sense.

"We're going home?" Sydney turned to find Nigel in a towel leaning against the door. He did look fine. Now there weren't any trace of bruises that should have still marred his smooth skin.

A light sheen of water coated his flat stomach, he ran his hand through his wet brown hair pushing it out of his face and Sydney had to swallow before she could answer, "Yeah, we are."

Nigel shook his head adamantly, "I have to stay."

"Why?" Sydney asked surprised, her gaze still lingering.

"I don't know," Nigel sighed tiredly, "I just get the feeling that we can't leave."

"What do you mean by 'can't'" Oscar questioned, "You get on the plane and wait until it lands."

"I mean can't as in can not." Nigel explained, "I cannot leave."

"What's wrong?" the seriousness that penetrated finally through.

Nigel shook his head and shrugged, "Can't, have to stay."

Sydney walked to where Nigel stood, the closer she got the more she could see how he was shaking. She entered the bathroom and returned with a few towels. Wrapping one around Nigel's shoulders she asked, "Why?"

"The cave." Nigel whispered roughly.

Sydney looked to Oscar for an explanation. Oscar shrugged in reply, "Every story that I hear with the cave ends up with someone dead."

She scowled at him and rubbed Nigel's arms. They had to go back, they had nothing on the cave the only thing they could do was explore its depths.

---

"Okay, once we do this, you guys go back north," Oscar shut off the engine and turned to look at both of them, "Got it?"

Sydney and Nigel nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"This should be faster, I mean, we know where we're going this time." Oscar got out of the car and waited until his friends were out as well, then locked it.

"Who's going to steal you car out here?" Nigel shrugged his backpack on.

Oscar grinned, "An evil robot?"

"Sydney," Nigel complained, "You're friends are odd."

Sydney didn't reply as she headed into the trees, at least they got along, somewhat.

---

"I have to go in." Nigel stated, he couldn't explain it. But he knew he had to go.

Sydney sighed, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Nigel answered and stepped into the opening of the cave, "Okay, like 90 percent."

Sydney and Oscar threw him a cross look.

"I don't know how to explain it," Nigel hastened to explain, "but it's the only way."

"The only way for what?" Sydney's hands on her hips.

"To get my soul back."

"What?" Oscar shouted, "When did you lose it?"

"They're taking it Syd, I know they are. Little by little." He took a shuddering breath, "And they want me, unless I give back what I unwittingly took."

"Nige, you're not making any sense."

Nigel hung his head, "I have to go in."

"All right," Sydney conceded, "Let's go."

"No!" Nigel blocked the entrance to the cave, "I have to go alone."

"Nige, you know it doesn't work that way," Sydney was less than an inch from entering, "we're coming with you"

"You can't," Nigel's voice strained, "They'll take yours."

"Nigel-"

"Syd, you have to stay out here. I'll be fine."

---

Sydney paced back and forth in front of the cave. They'd been waiting forever. She would swear by it, "How much longer is he going to take?"

"Sydney, it's been twenty minutes." Oscar explained easily, "Nothing to worry about."

Sydney made a sound that seemed like a cross between a growl and moan, "We should go in."

"No."

"He might be hurt or-"

"He's fine."

"He might be in trouble-"

Oscar sighed, "Okay, but only if we wait fifteen more minutes."

"Five," Sydney countered.

"Ten." Oscar said with finality.

Normally she would charge into the cave without any thoughts to what lay ahead, but Nigel had wanted her to stay outside. She had to listen to him.

---

The lights were back. Gently dancing and teasing him as he tried to figure them out. Just a little further and this would all be over.

They were ancient, he realized suddenly. They had always been here, watching the progress of man kind and waiting for the day that they could share a single path.

Man kind were not ready for this sort of thing. Men had been driven to kill because they couldn't handle the power.

But why didn't he?

He was ready. They wanted him to join them. They want him to spend the rest of eternity with them.

But he couldn't.

They wanted him. He was one of the best man kind could offer. They knew he was different from the moment he stepped foot into the cave.

No, no there was so much he still had to do.

They told him of the things he could learn and the things he could see and never die.

But he had to get back to Sydney. He had thought that he had to return something, but it was only a compulsion that made him come back.

Then he felt them back off. They didn't let go, but they eased. He loved her, they knew. He loved her more than life and if she weren't there, an eternity would be torture. They would allow her to come with him.

He couldn't make that decision. He couldn't answer for Sydney, it was her choice if she wanted to come but he all ready knew that she wouldn't. Life was precious to her. There was no way she would leave it behind. Except for him. But he wouldn't make her choose. So he was staying for her.

They wanted him to come back. When he was done living and to join them forever here. It was an opened ended deal. Sydney could come too. They could be here forever once they wanted to stop living.

He didn't know when that would happen but it was an eventuality.

They agreed and let go completely. They would protect them until the day he and Sydney joined them.

The gentle light suddenly took up a dark red, crimson blood oozing from the walls before burning into black.

He screamed, pain ripping though his very soul.

"Nigel," a light tap hit his cheek, "Nigel, please wake up."

He groaned and tried to back away from the annoying voice.

"Come on Nige, please." Sydney sounded anxious. He wondered why that was.

He opened his eyes and immediately turned so that the sun wouldn't blind him. Grass and dirt filled his senses, "God, what happened?"

---

"Goodbye Oscar," Sydney hugged him tightly, "it's been great, but next time, you're coming to my house."

Oscar grinned innocently, "Sure thing."

"It was a pleasure." Nigel held out his hand, "Hope to see you soon."

Oscar laughed and ignored the offered hand, enveloping Nigel in a fierce hug. "It was wonderful to meet you too."

"…last call for flight number 346…"

"That's us," Sydney announced.

"Oscar," Nigel whispered urgently, "your fiancée, she's with the lights."

The pain in his eyes was evident and Sydney wished she could understand what exactly happened. No matter how many times Nigel explained it to them, they couldn't follow.

At least they knew for sure that Lucero wouldn't be bothering them. He had a run in with the cops and had to escape to Brazil for a few years.

"She's all right," Nigel continued, "She'll look after you."

Oscar hugged them both one last time, "Go, you'll miss your plane."


End file.
